Attracting Gen Alpha to Work in Agency-land Requires a New Set of Priorities

Long hours, hierarchical structures and scattered opportunities to get your voice heard. It's not exactly the best job description, no matter the field. And yet, this is the perception that “just on the market” talent on the rise has about media agencies these days. If they’re even aware of the industry at all. Unfortunately, as marketing practitioners know all too well, it’s the perception that matters. The battle to recruit talent in the media world has never been fiercer. When the pandemic first squeezed the global economy, layoffs and downsizing left most agencies severely underprepared for the current upswing in client spending. The fact that the specialist skills needed to work within some of the big developing media trends are in short supply further compounds the problem. For instance, do you have the right talent to explore TikTok or metaverse ideas for clients? Work Is Not Everything to the New Generation of Marketers Tomorrow’s talent If this all makes for a challenging environment for today, what about tomorrow? Gen Alpha will begin to enter the workforce in the next few years, the first cohort to be entirely born in the 21st century. Besides being true digital natives practically born with a smartphone in their hands, as a social- and tech-first generation, Gen Alpha knows more about new media formats and how they engage audiences and boost reach than many current agency practitioners. With this in mind, agency heads and their HR departments should endeavor to understand what motivates them so that they can draw them into our ecosystem. What’s really going to bring them to your door? It’s very likely that only an overhaul of current agency models, operations and structures will create an organization that is sufficiently attractive to new talent. This means leaving behind the current concept of a service media agency forged in a century that has come and gone. Already there is great fluidity and cross-pollination between consultancies and agencies… don’t get me started on the word "cagency." But this isn’t really the revolution we need now. Rather, it needs to be bigger and bolder. Luckily there are some examples that lead the way. MrBeast (otherwise known as Jimmy Donaldson), the 24-year-old YouTube content creator whose main channel has more than 90 million subscribers, is someone who has figured out how to woo the next generation. Consider the fact that he’s now running an organization that has more than 100 creative young people within its ranks working on ideation, content development and partnership deals. The offerings are geared at driving video virality and engagement to bring in advertising dollars. Agency reinvention What steps can we all take towards the “Great Reinvention” in order to avoid the Great Resignation? First of all, consider breaking out of the box in which the “agency” label puts us. Social media influencers and creators are doing a similar job to agency staff but are much “cooler,” for want of a better word. MrBeast offers an exciting, dynamic way of working with high-profile brands. To attract the young talent of tomorrow, we are going to have to think of different ways of describing and qualifying not only what we do but also the impact of what we do. Gen Alpha won’t be excited by old labels or intentions devoid of purpose. Note that salary may not be a prime motivator for this cohort. Young people are watching MrBeast’s philanthropy channel and his altruistic, purpose-driven initiatives, such as his fundraising operations Team Trees for the Arbor Day Foundation and Team Seas for ocean-focused environmental nonprofits. They are witnessing firsthand how a business has baked philanthropy and a purpose beyond profit into its framework. We already know that younger generations increasingly want to work at places that “do good” for people and the environment. The recent Gen Z Spotlight Report from Washington State University Carson College of Business found that 83% of our younger workforce want to work for an organization where they can make a positive impact, and 75% prized a workplace that provided a healthy work-life balance. There’s every indication that the next cohort will only pursue these values with even more passion. Even if the motivation is financial, the average salary for a junior media planner is $39,305 and for a junior media buyer is $42,250, according to Payscale’s salary checker. These are not the kind of salaries that are going to attract high-caliber candidates when the tech giants are offering so much more in their packages. We must be imaginative in putting together customized, incentivizing employment packages that work for the person we want to join. Reframe the recruitment practice Finally, agencies will need to rethink where they fish for future talent. Targeting graduates may not deliver the diverse and multi-skilled recruits they need. Many young people are weighing up whether formal education beyond high school is the right path for them—partly because of the cost, partly because structured courses seem less relevant to their professional interests. In October 2020, 62.7% of high school graduates aged 16-24 entered college or university—down from 66.2% year over year. Agencies need to refocus on where they look for their intern intake. They need to start the conversations that explain what they do and the opportunities with young people earlier. We all offer a wide range of possible roles within our businesses, but we could be much better at exciting youngsters about what’s good within our industry. And we all need to be open to the many different benefits a diverse set of recruits can bring to our business. Smart agencies will develop a relevant intern program and get out to unfamiliar places, forging links with schools and community hubs and making sure that they have clued-up "talent scouts" rather than traditional recruiters using hidebound processes. We need to get it right with Generation Alpha. Generation Beta will be here in the blink of an eye. How Higher Ed Is Getting Creative to Attract College-Cautious Gen Z